Set up the Databricks Excel Add-in

Preview

This feature is in Public Preview.

The Databricks Excel Add-in connects your Databricks workspace to Microsoft Excel, bringing governed Lakehouse data directly into your spreadsheets to help you move from data to decisions faster. The add-in is fully supported across Excel for the web and desktop versions for both Windows and macOS.

This page describes the two methods available to set up the Databricks Excel Add-in in Microsoft Excel. This add-in uses single sign-on (SSO) authentication to connect to your Databricks workspace and supports Unity Catalog for data governance and access control.

Prerequisites

Before you install the Excel Add-in, verify that you have the following:

• Access to a Databricks workspace with Unity Catalog enabled.
• Access to a running SQL warehouse.
• Permissions to read data from Unity Catalog tables in your workspace.
• You are using one of the following versions of Excel:
  • Excel 2019 or later on Mac
  • Excel on Windows (Microsoft 365)
  • Excel on the web
  • Excel on Mac (Microsoft 365)
• If you use a firewall or a cloud security platform, allowlist the Databricks workspace URLs included in the add-in file.

Set up the add-in file

The add-in file is a small connector file that tells Excel exactly how to securely connect to Databricks. It acts as the digital handshake that ensures the add-in loads correctly and stays up to date every time you open Excel.

You must download and set up the add-in file to use the Databricks Excel Add-in.

1. Open the add-in file by clicking the following link:

   Databricks Excel add-in file

2. Save the page as an .xml file to your local machine. In most browsers, right-click the page and select Save as, or press Ctrl+S (Windows) or Command+S (macOS).

3. Edit the add-in file by specifying your workspace URL as an <AppDomain> within the AppDomains section. Your workspace URL is the base URL you use to access your Databricks workspace in a browser. To switch between multiple Databricks workspaces, add each workspace URL to the add-in file.

   XML

   <AppDomains>
      <!-- DO NOT CHANGE -->
      <AppDomain>https://www.databricks.com</AppDomain>
      <AppDomain>https://login.databricks.com</AppDomain>
      <!-- ADD WORKSPACE URLS AS SHOWN BELOW; PUT EACH WORKSPACE URL IN ITS OWN <AppDomain> TAG  -->
      <!-- EXAMPLE -->
      <AppDomain>https://<workspace1-id>.cloud.databricks.com</AppDomain>
      <AppDomain>https://<workspace2-id>.cloud.databricks.com</AppDomain>
   </AppDomains>

   note

   Paste your workspace URL as plain text, without formatting. In most text editors, use Ctrl+Shift+V (Windows) or Command+Shift+V (macOS).

4. Save your changes. Verify that the file is properly formatted as an .xml file.

Option 1: Admin managed

As a global admin, you can download and configure the Databricks Excel Add-in and deploy it to other users in your organization. Download and set up the add-in file provided in the Prerequisites.

To install the Databricks Excel Add-in as a Microsoft 365 Admin, you must have the global admin permission. As an admin, you can determine which users in your organization can use add-ins. For more about global admins on Microsoft 365, see the Microsoft documentation.

1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Settings > Integrated apps and click the Add-ins link.
2. Click Deploy Add-in and click Next.
3. Select Upload custom apps as the option to deploy a new add-in.
4. Select the option to upload a manifest. Click Choose File and upload the add-in file.
5. Choose which users should have access to the add-in.
6. Click Deploy.

For detailed steps about uploading the Databricks Excel Add-in, see the Microsoft documentation.

note

As an admin, share the account name associated with the workspace with users who are using the Databricks Excel Add-in.

Option 2: Self-service

Installation steps vary depending on your Excel platform. Download and set up the add-in file provided in the Prerequisites.

Excel for the web

To install and connect to the Excel Add-in in Excel for the web do the following:

1. Open Excel for the web and create or open a workbook.
2. Under the Home tab, click Add-ins > Advanced.
3. Click Upload My Add-in.
4. Upload the add-in file.
5. Click Upload.
6. Find and click the Databricks Add-in from the Add-ins menu.
7. Sign in to your Databricks account. If there is an error, make sure to enable pop-up dialogs.
8. If you configured multiple workspace URLs, select the desired Databricks account name. You only need to select a specific workspace if the URLs are within the same account. For more information on account names, see Locate your account ID.

Excel Desktop (Windows)

To install the Excel Add-in in Excel Desktop for Windows, do the following:

1. Create a folder named Manifest on your local drive (for example, C:\Manifest).
2. Copy the add-in file to the C:\Manifest folder.
3. Open the folder properties and share the folder:
   1. Right-click the Manifest folder and select Properties.
   2. Click Sharing > Share and add yourself as a user with read and write permissions.
4. Open Excel Desktop.
5. Configure Excel to trust the manifest folder:
   1. Click File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings.
   2. In the sidebar, click Trusted Add-in Catalogs.
   3. In Catalog Url, enter the path to the shared folder where the add-in file is located (for example, \\YourComputerName\Manifest).
   4. Click Add catalog.
   5. Select the Show in Menu checkbox.
   6. Click OK to save your changes.
6. Restart Excel Desktop.
7. Click Add-ins > More Add-ins > Shared Folder.
8. Select the Databricks connector and click Add.
9. Click the Databricks Add-in and complete the sign-in process to your Databricks account.
10. If you configured multiple workspace URLs, select the desired Databricks account name. You only need to select a specific workspace if the URLs are within the same account. For more information on account names, see Locate your account ID.

Excel Desktop (macOS)

To install the Excel Add-in in Excel Desktop for macOS do the following:

1. Find your Microsoft Office Add-ins folder. By default, the directory is:

   /Users/<your-username>/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Documents/wef

2. Copy the add-in file to this folder.

3. Open or restart Excel Desktop.

4. In the navigation bar, click Add-ins > My Add-ins.

5. Click the Databricks Add-in.

6. Complete the sign-in process to your Databricks account.

7. If you configured multiple workspace URLs, select the desired Databricks account name. You only need to select a specific workspace if the URLs are within the same account. For more information on account names, see Locate your account ID.

Change Databricks workspace

If your add-in file specifies multiple Databricks workspaces, you can switch between those workspaces. For more information, see Set up the add-in file.

To connect to a different Databricks workspace, do the following:

1. In the upper-right of the Databricks Add-in pane, click the three-dot menu next to the compute selector.
2. Click Change workspace.
3. Select the account your workspace is in, the workspace if prompted, and sign in.

Troubleshoot "Authentication in progress"

If you see an "Authentication in progress" window when trying to log in to Databricks from the add-in, your workspace might not have been correctly added to the custom add-in file. Verify that you have configured your workspace correctly under <AppDomains>.

Next steps

• Import and query data using the Databricks Excel Add-in